Product Defects And Holiday Injuries
The holiday season is supposed to be filled with joy and family fun, yet serious injuries also happen during this time of the year. Many injuries that occur during the holiday season result from product defects, or consumers suffering harm as a result of using a product that is dangerous or unsafe. In some cases, products will be recalled and consumers will receive safety recall notices. In other cases, many people may be injured before a recall occurs, and sometimes recalls never happen for products that appear to be inherently dangerous. There are many kinds of holiday-related consumer products that can be defective and can cause injuries. It is important to learn more about these products and how you may be able to move forward with a product liability lawsuit.
Common Types of Defective Holiday Products
What kinds of holiday products are responsible for injuries caused by defects? The following are among the most common types of consumer products that may cause harm this holiday season:
- Cooking devices, including turkey fryers;
- Children’s toys;
- Lights and holiday decor;
- Electronics with lithium-ion batteries; and
- Holiday food products.
These products can have various types of defects. Children’s toys may be marketed to the wrong age group or might fail to warn about choking hazards to young children. Lights and other holiday decor might pose unreasonable fire hazards or electrical shock injury hazards. Holiday food products might be contaminated and may pose risks of food poisoning, for example.
Who is Liable for Product Defect Injuries During the Holidays?
Depending upon the type of defect that caused the injury, you may be able to file a claim against the designer, manufacturer, or retailer of the defective product. Design defects are defects that are inherent to the product, and there is nothing that could be done to manufacture the product or market it in a manner that is safe for use. With a manufacturing defect, the design of the product is sound, but a defect occurred in the process of manufacturing it. Finally, there are marketing defects, which are a bit different. With marketing defects, there is nothing inherently wrong with the product, but there is something defective about how it was marketed to consumers. For example, a toy might be marketed to the wrong age group, or the packaging might fail to warn about risks of choking hazards to young children.
If you believe a product defect resulted in an injury, it is important to have an attorney assess your case to determine whether you could be eligible to file a product liability lawsuit in Pennsylvania or New Jersey.
Contact a New Jersey and Pennsylvania Product Defect Attorney
If you or a family member sustained injuries while using a defective product during the holiday season, it is important to know that you could be eligible to file a product liability lawsuit. An experienced New Jersey and Pennsylvania defective product attorney at Monaco Law PC can speak with you today about your case. Joseph Monaco is a New Jersey and Pennsylvania personal injury lawyer serving Atlantic County, Burlington County, Cape May County, Camden County, Cumberland County, Gloucester County, Mercer County, Middlesex County, Ocean County, Salem County and all of South Jersey.
Sources:
law.cornell.edu/wex/products_liability
cpsc.gov/safety-education/safety-guides/kids-and-babies-toys/holiday-toy-safety
